Harvey Dock
Rutgers Amateur Boxing Program
The United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association was
formed in 2012 and looks to bridge the gap between sport and academia is an
interchangeable force that provide the necessary intangible traits that equate
to success. According to its website,
“USIBA’s mission is to be the preeminent competitive intercollegiate amateur
boxing league in the United States.”
Amateur boxing has a rich tradition in this country, as evidenced by
several successful U.S. Olympic teams, but the amateur tradition also has a
long, storied collegiate past, which USIBA is looking to bring back and make a
focal point of higher education, through discipline, hard work, and
commitment. New Jersey boasts a very
successful ladies boxing team, at the West Point military academy, spearheaded
by New Jersey Amateur Boxing secretary Jacklyn Atkins. Mrs. Atkins trains the very successful team
and collaborates with amateur boxing teams throughout the state of New Jersey
to ensure that the teams are in compliance with the newest rules and safety measures
in the state.
Amateur Boxing Match - Gleason's Gym, Brooklyn, New York |
I have had a lot of dialogue with Mrs. Atkins about the
logistics of forming a team at Rutgers.
We have had fruitful discussions that stem from a passion that we both
share for the sport. I got my start many
years ago and was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame 20 years
ago. I have maintained a strong passion
for the sport that has elevated my amateur success to becoming one of the
sports top professional referees. The
road that the amateur program has allotted me has been extremely beneficial in
every aspect of my existence.
I have spoken to other prominent members in the professional
boxing community about the importance of the amateur boxing program and its
benefits to young men and women, and the response has been overwhelmingly
positive. The current New Jersey State
Athletic Commissioner Larry Hazzard is a member of the New Jersey amateur
boxing circuit, having won several Golden Gloves Championships in the 1960’s,
while using the discipline of the sport as a catalysts to a strong academic
career that has seen him help various other students educationally in his role
as a high school principle.
Amateur Golden Gloves Competition in New York |
While we have all benefitted from the success of our amateur
involvement in the sport, we look to bring the same sort of academic fervor
through the amateur boxing program that will enable us to see other generations
of kids succeed through this wonderful sport.
I have spoken to several members of the boxing fraternity (both
professional and amateur) and everyone is excited of the prospects of bringing
another successful amateur boxing program to another higher institution in New
Jersey.
Works cited:
Larry Hazzard, New Jersey State Athletic Commissioner
Melvina Lathan, New York State Athletic Chairwoman
Henry Hascup, New Jersey Amateur Boxing President/historian
Jacklyn Atkins, New Jersey Amateur Boxing Treasurer/West
Point Coach Girls Boxing Team
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